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City of Bartlesville
Posted: May 07, 2024 10:37 AMUpdated: May 07, 2024 10:37 AM
City of Bartlesville Releases Details in Tornado Recovery Efforts
Nathan Thompson & Kelli Williams
City crews and emergency personnel are responding to significant damage throughout the city after storms hit the Bartlesville area overnight.
Several streets remain closed today due to downed power lines, fallen trees and other debris as home and business owners assess major structural damage in the southwest and northeast areas of town.
“We have had significant structural damage primarily in southwest and northeast Bartlesville, but thankfully no fatalities or serious injuries have been reported,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “We are working with Washington County Emergency Management to coordinate our emergency response, and City staff are working to establish clean-up efforts including a drop-off site for debris and curbside assistance in storm-affected areas.”
Street, Police and Fire personnel enacted an emergency response shortly after storms hit the city about 9 p.m. Bartlesville Fire Department responded to several gas leaks and minor tree fires and, with assistance from Dewey and Copan fire departments, rescued several people trapped inside the Hampton Inn, located on north U.S. Highway 75. The hotel sustained heavy structural damage, along with several other homes and businesses in the area.
Street Department crews worked through the night to help clear roads of debris, and police are working in 12-hour shifts until further notice.
“We want to make sure we have plenty of manpower to respond to calls and continue our emergency response as needed,” said Police Chief Kevin Ickleberry. “Right now our main priority is just taking care of people.”
Topping and Ickleberry said police and fire crews from several jurisdictions responded last night to help, and offers of assistance continue to come in.
“We appreciate everyone who has helped or offered to help,” said Topping. “Right now, we appear to be in good shape.”
Washington County Emergency Management Director Kary Cox said the tornado that hit Bartlesville was likely an EF3 in scale, but “it will be a couple of days before we know for sure.”
“It first hit the city in the area of 22nd Street and Osage Avenue, then traveled toward Lowe’s on Adams Boulevard to the Tuxedo and Washington area and continued to the northeast,” said Cox.
“We have significant structural damage in those areas, as well as several downed power lines in northeast Bartlesville, particularly near Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska streets, and near the high school on Hillcrest Drive. This was certainly a powerful storm, and we are fortunate to have escaped with mainly structural damage and no loss of life or serious injuries.”
Cox said AEP-PSO is working to restore power in several areas of town, and Oklahoma Natural Gas has crews on the ground as well.
“We had some gas leaks in the northeast part of town and ONG is working on that,” he said.
“PSO has all available crews out to mitigate outages as soon as possible.”
Several traffic control signals are non-functional due to power loss.
“Most signals on U.S. Highway 75 are out, in addition to others throughout the city,” Cox said.
Debris drop-off site
A free site will open beginning at noon today for Bartlesville residents to dispose of tree debris caused by Monday’s storm. The site is located on West Highway 60 just east of the Green Country Rodeo Arena.
Debris taken to the site will be limited to tree limbs only.
“Anything other than tree debris — including trash, fences and lumber — is strictly prohibited,” said Public Works Director Keith Henry.
Dumping hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning today and continuing until the need is met. The site is for residential customers only. No commercial dumping is permitted without prior approval from the Public Works director.
Curbside collection
For customers who are unable to take their debris to the disposal site, city crews will begin curbside pick-up next week in storm-damaged areas only.
Residents should have their tree debris at their curb for collection no later than 6 a.m. on May 13.
City crews will begin making trips through the areas to pick up debris, which must be cut into lengths no longer than six feet. The pickup is for vegetative debris only.
"We will start in the most heavily impacted areas, primarily the southwest and northeast portions of town hit hardest by the storms, and we'll move to more isolated areas as we can," Henry said.
For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 918-338-4130.
Shelter
B the Light Mission at 219 N. Virginia Ave. in Bartlesville is also open for anyone displaced by the storm.
Co-founder Christy McPhail said the mission was “waiting to see what the need is” but plans to be open “as long as needed” for anyone who needs a place to stay, take a shower, or even do a load of laundry. For more information, call 918.288.0009 or visit b-thelight.org.
Anyone needing transportation to the shelter is asked to message the WCEM Facebook page or call the Bartlesville Police Department non-emergency number, 918-338-4001.
Food
The Salvation Army Canteen mobile unit is set up at Wilson Elementary School and will be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner and providing bottled water to affected residents.
“We’ll be here as long as they’re without power, possibly back tomorrow,” said Salvation Army Lt. Luke Swain.
Swain noted that donations of supplies are not needed at this time, but monetary donations may be made at salvationarmy.org.
Contractors
To perform work in the City of Bartlesville, all roofers, general contractors, electrical contractors, plumbing contractors and mechanical (HVAC) contractors must be licensed by the City of Bartlesville. In addition, all of those (except general contractors) must also be licensed by the State of Oklahoma. To become licensed, a contractor must meet minimum bonding and insurance requirements.
"In the wake of the recent tornado, residents should be cautious of unlicensed contractors and tree-trimming services looking to exploit the situation,” said Community Development Director Larry Curtis. “Ensure any service provider is licensed and insured, avoid large upfront payments, get multiple quotes, and always insist on a written contract. If you suspect fraudulent activity, please report it to local authorities. By staying vigilant, we can ensure a safe and effective recovery for our community."
For more information, see https://www.cityofbartlesville.org/city-verify-contractors-properlylicensed-insured/. For further assistance, contact the City of Bartlesville Community Development Department at 918-338-4238.
Report
Tree blockages can be reported to the City’s Public Works Department at 918-338-4130.
Residents may report damage to their property at the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management at damage.ok.gov.
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